Omar took his last sip and was finally able to talk. Anna asked, “Feel better?”
“Yes, but I have something to tell you,” he said quickly. “I overheard two of these guys talking. There is someone behind this, and he’s stolen Amira’s boat and is transporting the mooshrooms from the island.”
“To where?” asked Anna.
“I don’t know where,” said Omar, “but we have to stop him.”
Edison felt a sword slice into his arm, and an arrow hit his leg. The pain radiated throughout his body. He awoke in his bed, and his body still hurt.
He looked out the window. He wanted to TP back to his friends, but it was dark out, and he heard rattling outside his door. He sipped a potion of Strength, took a bite of an apple, and readjusted his armor. He had to be prepared. Once they rescued Omar, they were going to be in for a long night.
As he readied himself to TP to the cave, he heard a familiar sound outside his window. It called out, “Moo.”
15
ON THE SHORE
Edison’s door was ripped off its hinges, and he was face to face with four zombies. He knew the potions and the sword were powerful, but he was only one person, and battling them would be very tough. The zombie’s odor overwhelmed him as he grabbed another bottle of potion from his inventory and soaked the zombie that grabbed his arm. There was nobody there to help him, and despite destroying one zombie and weakening the others, the zombies annihilated him and Edison awoke in his bed. He looked up, and the zombies were gone.
“Edison,” Billy called out as he raced into Edison’s living room, “are you here?”
“Yes,” Edison replied, and he got up from his bed. He was wobbly and pulled a potion from his inventory to regain his strength. “I need to get more milk,” he told Billy.
Billy pulled a bottle from his inventory. “Keep this. You don’t look well.”
“Thank you, I’m okay,” he said. “I was just overwhelmed during a zombie battle.”
Amira rushed through the door, “Did you see the mooshrooms?” she asked them.
“Amira, you’re here!” Billy smiled. “When you were destroyed in the Nether I wasn’t sure if you were on Mushroom Island.”
“I came here because I tracked my boat to this shore. The person who is behind this has stolen all of the mooshrooms and left them at Farmer’s Bay. There is hardly room to move, there are so many mooshrooms roaming about. There are some bathing on the shore. The strange thing is they just abandoned the mooshrooms. It seems like the only plan they had was removing them from Mushroom Island. They don’t seem to have any idea what to do with them afterward.”
“That is weird,” said Billy.
The door had been ripped from its hinges, and as the sun came up a mooshroom peeked its head through the narrow doorway and let out a loud moo.
“What are we going to do with all of these mooshrooms?” asked Billy. “They’re probably destroying our town’s farm.”
Edison was craving a bowl of mooshroom stew, but he didn’t admit this. It wasn’t a time to eat. He had to find his other friends. He wondered if the people who stole the mooshrooms captured them.
“How did you get out of the stronghold?” Edison asked Billy.
“Stronghold? Where’s the stronghold?” questioned Amira.
“I was destroyed a few minutes after you,” explained Billy. “I think we should TP there to see if Omar and the others are okay.”
Billy and Edison told Amira about the stronghold filled with numerous Omars and she gasped, “How are we going to find the real Omar?”
“I don’t think the real Omar is in that stronghold. We have to stop whoever is behind this attack,” said Edison, and they TPed to the stronghold.
When they spawned in the stronghold, the only person left was Anna. She was in the jail. Her health bar was incredibly low. She tried to call out to them, but her voice was too weak. “Guys,” she said, but then stopped. She didn’t have the energy to speak.
“Anna.” Edison darted to the jail and slipped the milk between the slots. “Drink this, and we’ll get you out of here.”
She took a large gulp. “The Omars have Peyton, Erin, Allyson, and Dina. I don’t know where they took them. I was trying to fight one of them, and they tossed me in this jail. I had to watch as our friends were taken off to another location, and I couldn’t help them at all.” Tears filled Anna’s eyes as she spoke.
Amira tried to open the prison gate, but it wasn’t easy. She slammed her sword against the bolt. Then a voice called out, “Edison, Anna, Billy!”
They turned around to see Omar carrying a torch. He walked toward them.
“Stay back,” Edison said as he pointed his diamond sword at Omar.
“What are you doing? It’s me, Omar,” he explained.
“We’ve seen a lot of you,” said Billy.
“I know, but it’s really me,” proclaimed Omar.
“How can we be sure it’s really you?” asked Billy.
“I know,” said Amira. “We traveled together for a long time, and there are many things only both of us know. Remember when we were returning treasures. What was the first place we docked?”
“On the shore of an ice-cold biome. Our boat almost got stuck in the ice,” said Omar.
“That’s true,” said Amira. “You are the real Omar.”
Omar rushed over to them and helped break Anna out of the jail, but when they sprinted toward the exit, Omar let out a loud gasp.
The army of Omars crowded the exit. They all clutched bows and arrows and aimed at the group.
One of the Omars shouted, “Fire,” and the gang was destroyed.
16
DISCOVERIES
Edison awoke in his bed to the sounds of mooshrooms mooing outside his window. There was a noise coming from his living room. It sounded like footsteps.
“Billy?” he called out, but there was no response. Edison adjusted his armor and pulled a diamond sword from his inventory as he walked into the living room, ready to defend himself from the unknown person who was in house.
As Edison leaped out of his bedroom with his sword, a voice called out, “Edison! It’s me, Omar!”
Edison wasn’t sure it was the real Omar. He decided he’d put him to the test, like Amira, and ask him questions that only the real Omar would know. But he didn’t have a chance. Another Omar zipped through the door and screamed, “Imposter!” Their diamond swords clanged as they battled each other.
Edison stood in awe as two more Omars entered the bungalow and started to battle. He wanted to sprint past the two sets of battling Omars and run to Billy’s house to explain what was happening in his living room. Instead, he just watched as Puddles brushed up against his legs and meowed. He hoped he’d discover clues as he watched them fight, but there were no words spoken, just a battle. He wished he knew if one of these Omars was the real one.
“Moo.” Another mooshroom popped its head through the doorway, but it couldn’t fit inside the living room.
Edison could see Billy, Amira, and Anna outside of his window. He called out to them, “Please come in here!”
The trio sprinted into his living room and paused when they saw the chaos. One of the Omars had been destroyed, and there were three left battling each other.
“Why are you fighting each other?” asked Anna.
The Omars stopped, “We must all be destroyed.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” said Amira.
“We were told to destroy anybody who looks like us,” one of the Omars breathlessly explained.
“Why? Who told you to do that?” asked Anna.
“We can’t tell you,” said an Omar.
The three Omars continued fighting when one more was annihilated.
“What happens when there’s only one left?” asked Anna.
She didn’t have time to hear a response. Within a second, there was one Omar standing in front of her. He leaped at Anna and plunged his sword into her unarmored arm.
Her first instinct was to fight back, but she didn’t want to destroy this Omar. She wanted to interrogate him and find out who was behind all of these attacks.
Edison splashed a potion of Strength on the Omar, which irritated him. “Why would you do that?”
“We will make sure you stay alive forever,” said Edison.
“Tell us who is behind these attacks,” Amira demanded.
“Never!” he replied as he struck Amira with his diamond sword.
The sounds of mooshrooms grew louder, and Anna asked, “Why did they bring all of the mooshrooms to Farmer’s Bay?”
Omar didn’t respond. He kept battling them, but they wouldn’t strike him. Instead they shot a series of questions at him.
“Why are you doing this?”
“What is your plan for the mooshrooms?”
“Can’t you see what you’re doing to the Overworld?”
This Omar didn’t say a word. He didn’t even react until Peyton, Erin, Allyson and Dina exploded through the door with another Omar. The silent Omar sprinted toward the new Omar and began to swipe him with his sword.
“Leave him alone. We know your story. Your gang is over, and you are done terrorizing the Overworld,” screamed Allyson.
“Never!” he hollered and struck the Omar who just walked through the door.
Allyson hit him with her diamond sword, but Edison told her that she shouldn’t destroy this imposter Omar, because he might have answers.
“I told you guys,” Allyson said as she destroyed the Omar, “we have the answers.”
“Tell us what you know,” said Anna.
Allyson explained, “We just escaped from the boat where we were held prisoner.”
Erin said, “We overheard the leader talking. He has made an error, which is why the mooshrooms are here. The boat is broken, and he’s trying to fix it. He thinks the weight from all of the mooshrooms was too much for the boat. When he unloaded a couple, they all escaped. He has no idea how to get them back.”
“Why does he want the mooshrooms?” asked Edison.
Erin said, “His big plan was to steal all the mooshrooms and then deliver them to people across the Overworld. He thought he’d be able to have a lot of great trades because they’re so rare.”
“So there was never really a curse?” asked Amira.
“No, just a criminal. The same one who approached Dina,” said Allyson.
“Yes, we saw him without his Omar skin. It was the same guy,” confirmed Dina.
“How are we going to stop him?” asked Edison.
“We have a plan,” the real Omar said with a smile.
17
MOOSHROOMS
“What’s the plan?” asked Edison.
“Since I look like them, I’m going to make them believe I’m in their army. I’m going to start returning the mooshrooms to the boat. Amira, you should fix the boat, and we should all travel back to Mushroom Island. The leader will follow us back there, and we’ll capture him,” explained Omar.
“That sounds too easy,” said Anna.
“Easy?” questioned Omar. “I think it’s going to be one of the hardest things we’ve ever done.”
The gang followed Omar outside and helped him lead the mooshrooms back on the ship, but only three mooshrooms fit on the small boat. “How did he transport all of these mooshrooms on this boat?” questioned Amira. “No wonder it broke,” she remarked while attempting to fix the boat. There was a large hole on the bottom, and she pulled a wooden plank from her inventory and placed it over the hole.
One of the Omars saw them place the mooshrooms on the ship. “What are you doing? The mooshrooms stay here.”
The real Omar made his way to the front of the ship. “No, there has been a change of plans. He wants us to build boats and bring the mooshrooms back to Mushroom Island.”
“I never heard about that plan,” said the Omar lookalike.
“Well, it’s true,” said Omar. “Call the others over and help us build ships.”
“Who are these people that are helping you?” asked the man.
“They are my prisoners. Once we get to Mushroom Island, I am to construct a prison and leave them in there.”
The other Omar seemed satisfied with this response and called over a few more soldiers. They stood on the shores of Farmer’s Bay crafting boats. When one boat was done, they would lead a group of mooshrooms onto the ship. Once the ship was full, Omar instructed them to set sail to Mushroom Island.
The first boat filled with mooshrooms took off for Mushroom Island when a gang of Omars approached and questioned them.
“This isn’t what we are supposed to be doing,” a fake Omar argued.
“Yes,” Omar said, “it is. We have to bring the mooshrooms back to Mushroom Island.”
“That’s not the plan. I’m going to report you,” said the fake Omar.
“Let’s go!” said Omar.“I want to be there when you report me.”
“It’s my pleasure,” said the fake Omar as he marched away from the shore of Farmer’s Bay and to the cave near Verdant Valley. But he stopped when he saw Omar was not alone. “You can’t bring them in here.”
“But they’re my prisoners.” He pointed to Allyson, Dina, Erin, Peyton, Amira, Anna, Edison, and Billy. “I can’t let them go. Also, he’ll be happy to see them. He knows they have been trying to stop him.”
“I don’t trust them, and I don’t trust you,” the fake Omar hollered, and he called for backup. As he screamed, a seemingly neverending stream of Omars sprinted from the cave and shot arrows. The Omars leaped toward the gang with their diamond swords.
Edison’s hearts were depleting quickly, and he tried to grab a potion from his inventory to regain his strength, but it was impossible. Another Omar struck his leg while another shot a stream of arrows at his arm. He was weak and in pain, and he let out an agonized cry. He knew this was the end and that he’d be destroyed and would respawn in his home, but he wanted to help his friends.
“Edison.” Dina handed him a potion of Strength. “Drink this,” she said as she slew the two Omars who had attacked Edison. He regained his energy and stood beside Dina as they battled the army of Omars.
The real Omar wanted to find out who was orchestrating this plot against Mushroom Island and who had also stolen his skin. He wove his way through the crowd of lookalikes and spotted an Omar standing in the back of cave ordering the soldiers to leave.
Omar tore toward him with his diamond sword. He pointed and demanded, “Change your skin.”
“It’s really you.” He laughed and then let out a cough.
“Yes, I am the real Omar. Now, I don’t know why you chose to create an army of soldiers who look like me or why you choose to wear my skin, but it has to stop. This is over.”
“Over?” He laughed again, and his cough grew stronger. “This is just the beginning.”
“The beginning?” Omar pierced the other man’s leg with the diamond sword.
This infuriated the leader. “Don’t ever strike me again,” he said as he swiftly pulled a potion from his inventory and splashed it on Omar.
Omar was down to two hearts. He called for help, but his friends couldn’t hear him. They were too busy battling the army outside of the cave. The leader said, “Nobody is going to help you. It’s time to give up. Soon I will be selling my mooshrooms all over the universe, and I’ll be the richest person in the Overworld. When I am rich, I will have power.” He laughed and coughed at the same time.
Omar pulled a potion from his inventory, splashed it on himself, and became invisible. He sprinted through the cave and to his friends. He needed backup. He had to defeat this criminal. When he emerged from the cave, he was thrown down as an explosion rocked the ground. The cave exploded.
“What’s happening?” screamed a soldier.
Edison sprinted toward Omar, making this way through the smoke. “Are you okay?”
“Yes, but the leader was in there,” said Omar.
&nb
sp; Two soldiers came over to Omar. They changed skins in front of him, Transforming from Omar, with his jet-black hair and black jacket, to their own skins. One had flaming red hair, and the other had purple hair and wore glasses.
“It’s over,” the soldier with the purple hair told him. “We’ve destroyed Jimmy.”
“Is that the leader?” asked Omar.
“Yes,” he said, and he introduced himself as Walter. He explained, “Jimmy had promised us a life of wealth and power, but we overheard him saying that once he sold the mooshrooms, he was going to let us go.”
The soldier with flaming red hair said, “And that’s when we decided to put an end to this.”
Walter told the remaining people from the army to go back to their old skins, and one by one they changed from Omar to their real selves.
“We will help you get the mooshrooms back to Mushroom Island,” said Walter.
The group walked toward the shore. As they approached Farmer’s Bay, they could hear the sounds of mooshrooms mooing.
18
MOOSHROOM STEW
The group worked to build boats and place the remaining mooshrooms aboard. When the final mooshroom was carefully loaded onto the last boat, the gang boarded.
“I’m so glad Mushroom Island will have mooshrooms back,” said Dina.
“Now that Jimmy has been destroyed,” remarked Allyson, “I hope the hostile mob invasions have stopped.”
There was nonstop chatter aboard the ship. Everyone was excited to return to Mushroom Island, and they hoped that it had been restored to its old beauty, which had been peaceful and created a place where people could relax and not live in fear about being terrorized by hostile mobs.
“I wish this ship could move faster,” said Allyson. “I can’t wait to be back and see what is happening on the island.”
Everyone agreed. The trip to the island felt like it lasted forever. They wanted to get to the shore. Omar worried that Jimmy would be on the shore and the battle would start all over again, but he was pleased when they arrived to a dock filled with ships.
Mystery on Mushroom Island Page 6
